Keep You
by haveyouseenmyhaggis
Summary: And this was how it was going to be for the Doctor and the Master. It hurt, but the Doctor didn't really mind. He needed to be controlled as much as the Master needed to be in control.


**Title: Keep You**

**Summary: And this was how it was going to be for the Doctor and the Master. It hurt, but the Doctor didn't really mind. He needed to be controlled as much as the Master needed to be in control.**

**Author's Note: I wrote this on a bus today. Quite pleased with it. Hope you all enjoy! This was inspired by the song "Love The Way You Lie".**

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><p>The man in the mirror was crying. There were damp streaks trailing down the man's face and when the bitter, unrelenting salt water bled into one of the many painful gashes on the man's face, he winced. He looked lost. His brown eyes were clouded with inexpressible agony but his face was devoid of emotion.<p>

The Doctor took a deep steadying breath and the man in the mirror breathed with him. He looked away, trying to avoid the broken gaze of the other who was staring straight at him. He couldn't avert his gaze for long though and next he knew he was gazing at the helpless man again. "Stop it..." he whispered before he could stop himself. He wished this other man would stop looking so forlorn and defeated. It scared him to see a person like that.

It scared him even more because he knew he was simply looking at his own reflection. He was this scared, wide eyed man... He shut his eyes tightly and tried not to think about what he was seeing but as soon as he was in darkness, he was reliving the events that led to this. He could feel the anger again, he could feel the pain... He could feel the exhilaration of the fight. Sometimes he thought this pain was the only thing keeping him alive.

Suddenly, he flinched when he felt strong arms snake around his waist. He tensed, every muscle in his body telling him to run but when the reassuring "Sshhh," was whispered in his ear, he immediately felt himself relax into the embrace. He went to talk, to tell the other man to get off him, to leave him be but he couldn't as a warm kiss was placed at the base of his neck and some well chosen words silenced him completely. "I've got you."

They were words of possession and ownership, not so much love and kindness and the Doctor knew that but he somehow felt he needed that. All the rest of the time he fought so hard to keep control – to save lives, to keep the universe correct and to be, for all intents and purposes, indestructible but now here was the Master offering him a chance to relinquish this control, even just for a short time.

It was more than just for selfish reasons that the Doctor stayed though. Part of his reasoning was simply for the Master. He'd watched his old enemy and even older friend trip and fall countless times and he, the Doctor, was usually the case for his failure. The Doctor wanted to help him though, but he'd been pushed away countless times but now he realised what it was going to mean to help the Master. The realisation had hit him as quickly and as hard as the Master's fist had drawn blood from him several hours earlier – to help the Master he was simply going to have to let him _be _the Master. He couldn't give the Master the universe to manipulate but he could offer himself...

And that's what he had done. He hadn't fought back when the Master found him. He'd just taken the beating the other – the only other – Timelord had given him. He didn't hit back once. He could never hit the Master. He could never hurt the only thing he had left.

Quietly, the Doctor opened his eyes and stared into the mirror that his reflection now shared. The Master was standing behind him, his body pressed hard against him, face buried in the Doctor's neck, his eyes closed. "Why didn't you kill me?" the Doctor wondered aloud, watching their reflections carefully.

The Master laughed slightly but it was bitter and mirthless. He looked up slowly and met the Doctor's gaze in the mirror. "Why didn't I kill you? Why... didn't... I... kill you...?" he broke up the sentence as though trying to process it for himself. "Because that would make me as bad as you..." His grip subconsciously tightened around the Doctor's waist, his fingers digging into already bruised flesh.

"What do you mean?" the Doctor probed, a shadow of a frown forming on his face.

The Master smiled, apparently glad to have the chance to embellish his reasons, "Because, Doctor, you're all I have left. You're all that's left of Gallifrey because _you_destroyed it. If I destroy you...? Then I've destroyed Gallifrey too, and I've lost it all over again..." His eyes were dark and dangerous but he didn't seem to have any intention of hitting the Doctor for the moment. He just seemed weary. The Doctor moved his hand slowly and placed it on top of the Master's, almost worried, his hearts pounding in his chest but he didn't say anything. He watched in the mirror as the Master buried his face in the Doctor's shoulder again. "And that's why I'm going to keep you, Doctor. You're mine now. Do you understand?"

The Doctor was taken aback for a split second at the question but he answered with what he knew was the truth. "Yes, Master."

And that's how it was going to be. And the Doctor? The Doctor was glad.


End file.
